The Attorneys

Small Team.
Extraordinary Record.

Every attorney here has earned their place. Chambers-ranked partners, former federal clerks, and associates who chose genuine trial experience over leverage ratios.

The Partners

Ryan Watstein — Co-Founder & Partner
Co-Founder & Partner

Ryan Watstein

Chambers USA — Band I Star Individual

Ryan is a nationally recognized litigator and founding partner of WT. He has served as lead counsel in approximately 600 national class actions — and in none has a class been paid. Ranked Band I by Chambers USA alongside the practice he leads, which also received a Band I designation. His experience spans TCPA, privacy, false advertising, FCRA, FDCPA, CIPA, and complex commercial matters across more than two dozen jurisdictions and six federal circuits.

Alexander Terepka — Co-Founder & Partner
Co-Founder & Partner

Alexander Terepka

Chambers USA — Ranked Individual

Alex co-founded WT and has spent more than a decade handling his clients’ most sophisticated business litigation and class action matters in federal courts across the country. He has served as lead counsel in dozens of class actions — never having a class paid — and holds a 3–0 first-chair jury trial record. His practice spans consumer class actions, privacy litigation, and complex commercial disputes.

Matthew Keilson — Partner
Partner

Matthew Keilson

Chambers USA — Associate to Watch → Partner

Matthew has successfully defended companies in dozens of class actions under state and federal statutes — obtaining several first-in-the-nation decisions and numerous dismissals without any client payment. Elevated to Partner after Chambers recognized him as an Associate to Watch. His practice focuses on TCPA defense, consent and ATDS litigation, and federal consumer protection compliance.

Nathaniel Haas — Partner
Partner

Nathaniel Haas

Nathaniel founded Watstein Terepka’s Los Angeles office. He represents high-profile clients in state and federal courts and arbitrations nationwide, with class action experience spanning consumer fraud, antitrust, landlord-tenant, mass tort, and securities. Before joining WT, he was a partner at Kirkland & Ellis and clerked for Judge Morgan B. Christen of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He earned his J.D. from USC Gould, where he now serves as a Lecturer in Law.

Matthew Venezia — Partner
Partner

Matthew Venezia

Matthew is a partner in Watstein Terepka’s Los Angeles office. He specializes in class action, intellectual property, false advertising, and anti-discrimination litigation, with two published Ninth Circuit opinions to his name. He obtained class certification and lead counsel appointment in litigation challenging the UNOS race-based kidney function score adjustment. Matthew joined WT from Ellis George LLP, and earned his J.D., cum laude, from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis.

The Team

Watstein Terepka team
Watstein Terepka office detail

Special Counsel

Benjamin Williams — Special Counsel
Special Counsel

Benjamin Williams

Benjamin represents Fortune 500 companies across retail, pharmaceutical, transportation, energy, technology, and media in trade secret, business tort, TCPA, consumer protection, and labor and employment matters. He was part of the team that defended the world’s biggest retailer in a landmark employment class action that produced lasting Supreme Court class action standards. Before WT, Benjamin practiced at two AmLaw top-15 firms. He earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from SMU Dedman, where he was elected to the Order of the Coif.

David Meadows — Special Counsel
Special Counsel

David Meadows

David has a 24-year track record defending companies in class actions and complex commercial litigation, with substantial federal trial experience as lead counsel. He has served as lead trial counsel to a major airline in a $30M+ contract dispute, defended TCPA actions resulting in attorneys’ fee awards against plaintiffs, and obtained summary judgment in matters arising from the largest bond default in Georgia history. Before WT, David was a partner at Alston & Bird and King & Spalding.

John Mittelbach — Special Counsel
Special Counsel

John Mittelbach

John brings over a decade of experience in complex commercial litigation, class actions, appeals, and investigations, including dispositive published decisions in putative class actions. He also serves as general and litigation counsel for entrepreneurs, family offices, and startups across industries from AI to real estate, drawing on his own experience founding multiple businesses. Before private practice, John clerked for Judge Edward E. Carnes on the Eleventh Circuit and graduated first in his class from Emory Law, where he served as Editor in Chief of the Emory Law Journal.

Trishanda Treadwell — Special Counsel
Special Counsel

Trishanda Treadwell

Trish is a senior litigator with more than 20 years of experience in complex commercial, regulatory, and consumer finance matters spanning high-stakes litigation, internal and government investigations, and enforcement actions involving federal consumer protection laws, business torts, and employment disputes. Before returning to private practice, Trish served as Assistant Litigation Deputy Counsel at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Georgia. She earned her J.D., cum laude, from Georgia State University College of Law.

The Associates

James Ruley — Associate
Associate

James Ruley

James focuses on complex commercial litigation and consumer class action defense, including TCPA, FDCPA, and state unfair competition matters. He routinely advises companies in payment processing, telecommunications, hospitality, home improvement, and consumer goods on compliance with state and federal consumer statutes. James clerked for Justice Keith Blackwell on the Supreme Court of Georgia and previously served as a staff attorney for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He earned his J.D., cum laude, from Indiana University Maurer School of Law.

Keith Emanuel — Associate
Associate

Keith Emanuel

Keith is a business litigator with extensive experience defending and prosecuting consumer class actions and complex commercial litigation, including matters under the TCPA, FDCPA, FCRA, and state unfair competition statutes. She has appeared at every stage of litigation and on appeal, representing both plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal courts nationwide. Keith clerked for Judge Lisa Godbey Wood of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia and earned her J.D., cum laude, from the University of Georgia School of Law.

Leo O’Toole — Associate
Associate

Leo O’Toole

Leo represents plaintiffs and defendants in complex, high-stakes disputes, including matters involving billions in exposure, with experience across mass actions, breach of fiduciary duty, employment, Voting Rights Act, and public nuisance claims. Before joining WT, Leo served as an Assistant Attorney General in the New York Attorney General’s Office on the opioid trial team that secured more than $2 billion in relief for the State of New York. He clerked for Judge John R. Padova on the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and earned his J.D. from Yale Law School.

Logan Leonard — Associate
Associate

Logan Leonard

Logan is a commercial litigator representing Fortune 50 companies in disputes with billions at stake, including TCPA, CIPA, FTSA, VTPPA, and Rosenthal Act class actions, mass arbitrations, and antitrust, securities, bankruptcy, and business-tort matters. He has prosecuted and defended cases at every stage from pre-suit through appeal. Before joining WT, Logan clerked for Chief Judge Alia Moses of the Western District of Texas and practiced at a Manhattan litigation boutique. He earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law.

Associate

Matthew Peters

Matt focuses on business disputes and putative class actions, including claims under contracts and state and federal marketing, privacy, and unfair competition statutes. He also advises clients on pre-litigation compliance and commercial contract drafting in consumer-facing industries. Before joining WT, Matt served as Associate General Counsel for a diversified family of companies in e-commerce, consumer goods, franchising, technology, and food. He earned his J.D., magna cum laude, in the top 10% of his class from the University of Mississippi School of Law.

Melanie Ng Silva — Associate
Associate

Melanie Ng Silva

Melanie focuses on complex commercial litigation and consumer class action defense, including matters under the TCPA, CAN-SPAM, state privacy, and unfair competition statutes. She has experience defending against serial litigants and developing custom compliance policies covering telecommunications regulations and consumer privacy laws. Before joining WT, Melanie practiced in the Miami office of an international law firm. She earned her J.D., cum laude, from the University of Miami School of Law and three undergraduate degrees from the University of South Carolina Honors College.

Oyinkan Muraina — Associate
Associate

Oyinkan Muraina

Oyinkan is a corporate litigator with extensive experience defending securities class actions and complex commercial litigation, including breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and antitrust matters. She also advises public company clients on legal disclosures and corporate governance reforms. Before joining WT, Oyinkan was a litigation associate at global law firms in New York and Atlanta. She earned her J.D. from Columbia Law School, where she served on the Columbia Journal of Transnational Law, and graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania, where she was a Fulbright Research Fellow in Nigeria.

Patrick Fitzgerald — Associate
Associate

Patrick Fitzgerald

Patrick focuses on consumer class actions and commercial litigation, including matters under the TCPA, FDCPA, and state privacy statutes, with experience handling insurance coverage matters and expedited injunctive relief. He has obtained first-in-the-nation rulings, including a CIPA ruling that consent can be implied at the pleadings stage. Before joining WT, Patrick clerked for two federal judges and graduated first in his class from Florida State University College of Law, where he was elected to the Order of the Coif.

Associate

Rebecca Rhym

Rebecca is a business litigator at WT. Before joining the firm, she served as a Law Clerk for Judge Mark H. Cohen of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, where she conducted legal analysis and assisted with research and drafting orders. Rebecca also worked as a Bankruptcy Paralegal at an Atlanta firm. She graduated summa cum laude from Georgia State University College of Law, where she served as Digital Communications Editor of the GSU Law Review and was inducted into the Order of the Coif.

Watstein Terepka office interior

The Team Behind the Team

Caitlin Dooley — Executive Assistant
Executive Assistant

Caitlin is WT’s Executive Assistant, supporting colleagues by optimizing processes and managing operational functions. Before joining WT, she assisted the CFO of one of Atlanta’s fastest-growing real estate appraisal firms, overseeing personnel, legal, and integrated technology functions, and previously managed hundreds of claims at a prominent financial institution. She graduated with honors from Kennesaw State University with a B.S. in Psychology.

Jennipher Borey — Senior Paralegal
Senior Paralegal

Jennipher supports and manages the heavy caseloads of multiple WT attorneys, with skills spanning client and deadline management, deposition and hearing preparation, document drafting, and federal court filings. Before joining WT, she supported attorneys in bankruptcy, workout, and real estate practices at prominent law firms and corporations across more than 18 years in the Georgia legal industry. She holds a Law Paralegal Certificate from Northeastern University.

Kaitlyn Thompson — Paralegal
Paralegal

Kaitlyn supports WT attorneys through discovery management, document drafting and filing, legal research, and client caseload oversight, and plays an integral role in the firm’s marketing and litigation monitoring. Before joining WT, she supported the Complex Commercial Litigation team of one of Atlanta’s most prominent law firms in product liability class actions. She earned her B.A. in Political Science with an emphasis in Legal Studies from Georgia Southern University.

Keith Dye — Director of Operations
Director of Operations

Keith manages WT’s operational services, vendor relationships, recruiting, and billing systems. Before transitioning into firm administration, Keith practiced as Assistant Director of Law for the City of Akron Prosecutor’s Office and as a Staff Attorney for the Clark County Child Support Enforcement Agency, and later served as Senior Director of Student Services and Career Development at Case Western Reserve University School of Law for over four years. He earned his J.D. from the University of Akron School of Law.

Lindsay Ballard — Paralegal
Paralegal

Lindsay supports WT attorneys with meticulous research, document drafting and management, and filings in state and federal courts, excelling in fast-paced, deadline-driven environments. Before joining WT, she supported attorneys in commercial real estate and general litigation at two major Atlanta firms. She graduated summa cum laude from Kennesaw State University with a B.A. in International Affairs.

600+
Class Actions Defended
Zero
Classes Certified Against the Firm
5,000+
Consumer Claims Litigated
50%
Federal Clerkship Ratio

Looking for Attorneys Ready for Real Responsibility

Federal clerkship experience and class action or TCPA background are the strongest indicators of fit. All inquiries are treated confidentially.

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